


And What Does the Heart Want? We Hardly Know

by IvyCpher



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Cho Chang, Blushing, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Lesbian Hermione Granger, Light Angst, POV Hermione Granger, Room of Requirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 16:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21164996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyCpher/pseuds/IvyCpher
Summary: Hermione offers to talk to Cho about her feelings about Harry, Cedric, and everything else that's bothering her.





	And What Does the Heart Want? We Hardly Know

"Hermione!"

Hermione stopped and turned, she was on her way to the great hall for dinner with Ron and Harry but someone calling her name caught her attention. Students weaved around her as she stood unmoving in the middle of a hallway, it took her a moment to spot Cho Chang still in the mass of students bustling and moving all in a hurry to get dinner. "Oh, hello, Cho!" Hermione said, smiling, she worked her way through the crowd until she was at the opposite end of the hall with Cho. "Did you need something?"

Cho bit her lip, her eyes darting to the ground. By the time she managed an answer most everyone around them had disappeared into the great hall. "I just.. I wanted to know if there was anything between you and Harry," She said looking up.

With a sympathetic look Hermione shook her head, "No, there's never been anything between us. Is this because of how he acted on your last date?"

"Yeah," Cho frowned, "Wait- he told you about that?" She asked sounding angry. "Ugh, I can't believe him!"

"I know, and I'm embarrassed for him," Hermione cast a quick glance behind her to open doors of the great hall. "Do you want to talk.. about him and everything?" She asked slowly, "Girl to girl? I know that it's just horrible not having anyone to talk to." And when she said this Hermione truly meant it, for the first part of her first year at Hogwarts she had no friends until the night of the Halloween feast when she was almost killed by a troll and was then saved by Harry and Ron.

The anger faded from Cho's face and she smiled softly, "Yeah, I'd like that. But- where would you suppose we'd go? Filch would write us up if he saw us loitering in the halls."

"Why not the Room of Requirement? I'm sure it could give us a perfect place."

Cho beamed, "That sounds perfect, let's go."

And so they did. They made for the nearest staircase walking rather close. Hermione liked having a girl friend to talk to, always being around Harry and Ron made her really appreciate the company of other girls. Even when she had another girl to talk to it was usually in the company of Harry and Ron, it had been a while since she had a private conversation with another girl. Just the very thought of being alone with another girl made her heart race, and here Hermione was talking with Cho.

"So tell me," Hermione asked as they walked up the marble stone staircase. "What made you take an interest in Harry?"

"Well nothing anymore to be honest," Cho said and Hermione snorted with laughter making a grin appear on Cho's lips. "But.. But I guess he was always rather sweet. I liked him around the same time I began liking Cedric," When she said Cedric's name her voice trembled slightly and she took a big breath. "And it was just one of those things where you like two people and just whichever one of them acts first you end up being with you know?" She shrugged slightly. "And.. I guess I've always liked a guy who could fly well."

Cho's smile started to fade as they reached the top of the third floor, "But.. But after Cedric.. I don't know, I didn't think that I would start liking Harry again and I just-" She paused as they made their way to the end of the corridor and waited as a magical staircase started to float their way. "I admire him I guess, but I also feel bad about liking him. And even liking him before everything that happened at the end of the tournament."

Hermione nodded softly and hitched up the shoulder strap of her bag on her shoulder. "I completely understand," She stepped onto the staircase once it floated over. "It's not your fault you know.. Liking Harry."

"Yeah.. I know." Cho sighed and they climbed up the staircase. "I just wonder about Cedric, and if.." She sniffled and closed her eyes tightly for a second. "And if he'd be upset at me, I mean, just guy hopping. And leaving him for Harry when he survived and Cedric didn't."

While they stepped off the floating staircase and onto the seventh floor Hermione was rummaging around in her robes. She pulled a yellow handkerchief out of one of the pockets in her robes and handed it to Cho who thanked her softly and used it to blot at her eyes. "I'm sure he's not," Hermione said softly. Their steps were slower now both because of how their were nearing the Room of Requirement and because of topic of conversation. "Cedric would want you to be happy, Harry admires him very much you know."

"Really?" Cho asked softly, her eyes were glazing over with tears.

"Yes, really," Hermione put a comforting hand on Cho's shoulder as they walked past the wall where the Room of Requirement was three times. She glanced up at the wall the third time and smiled softly to see a dark red door with a dark handle. "And.. He feels bad about it too you know," She said opening the door and leading Cho in, keeping her hand on her. "Living while Cedric had to die."

The Room of Requirement had transformed into a small but cozy room that looked rather like an old muggle woman's living room. The walls were painted a soft pink colour and there was a large flower patterned sofa with three matching arm chairs scattered about the room. In front of the sofa there was a dark coffee table that had a blue box of tissues and two steaming mugs of hot chocolate on white granite coasters.

The two girls took a moment to take in the room then slowly moved over to the sofa. Cho was quiet as Hermione handed her her hot chocolate, then she put her school bag down and grabbed her own mug. She sat down next to Cho, closer than she had meant to making their legs touch. But neither of them moved or said a word about it.

Cho took a slow sip of hot chocolate, "And recently.." She spoke over the rim of her cup, turning to look at Hermione. "I think that I might have made myself like Harry so I could try and get with him so he would talk to me about Cedric." She muttered quietly, tears starting to slip down her cheeks.

Hermione transferred her hot chocolate to her other hand to wrap her arm around Cho's shoulder. "I don't think you've done that at all. I do think you really did like Harry, why else would you get so jealous of me?"

The softest of smiles crept onto Cho's face and she wiped away her tears with Hermione's handkerchief. "Hermione, I know you're the top person in all of our classes, but I think you might be the top in sorting out emotions too." She sniffed, letting her head fall on Hermione's shoulder.

Colour filled Hermione's cheeks, "Oh.. I don't know about that," She smiled bashfully, taking large drink from her mug for something to do. The hot chocolate burned her throat, but even her burning throat was not enough to distract her from her ferocious heartbeat that had began to steadily speed up.

Cho gazed up at Hermione, "I mean it," Her smile grew, "And I should've guessed that you didn't like Harry," She said with a quiet laugh. "Is it that Ron Weasley who you like, or Krum from the ball?"

Hermione took another drink from her mug for something to do. Her face felt feverish and for once she was finding it hard to say the right answer, "Well.." She said over her cup so stream came back into her face. Her skin tingled where the steam it. "Krum is nice, and so is Ron when it wants to be but.. I don't like either of them."

Cho picked her head up from Hermione's shoulder, looking at her with a bemused expression. "Really?" She put her mug down on its coaster with a dull thunk. "Is there any boy you like?"

Hermione took yet another drink of her hot chocolate, she had drank nearly all of it so that only a few baby marshmallows remained at the bottom in the dismal amount remaining. "Not any boys, no." She smiled nervously without looking at Cho and too put her cup down.

There was silence between them for a moment.

"Is there," Cho started slowly, her hand coming to rest on Hermione's knee. "Any girls you like?"

At Cho's touch Hermione felt a strange tingle spread across her skin, she looked up and saw that Cho's still somewhat teary eyes were bright, just like her smile. "There could be," Hermione said breathlessly. "I'm not all that sure."

Cho examined Hermione for a moment, then leaned her head back on her shoulder with a sigh. Her hand however did not leave Hermione's knee, "I'm not all that sorry I don't like Harry anymore. I still feel bad for even liking him in the first place but-" She paused, "But I'm more worried about what the other girls are going to think of me when they find out that we aren't really a thing."

"Why's that?" Hermione put her free hand to the side of her so she could lean back on it to look at Cho better.

"Because.. Well when I got depressed after… After Cedric, most of my friends stopped hanging around me because I was a downer. Then this year after I started liking Harry, they noticed and well- started calling me things like a slut." She sighed and looked up at Hermione. "They all saw Harry and I leave the castle together, and they've had to heard what went down between us at Madam Puddifoot's. It's more than easy for them to start a rumor or something saying that I just liked Cedric and Harry since they were famous-."

"Oh Cho-," Hermione said quietly. "That's horrible, you're not.. You're nothing of what they said! It's normal to get crushes and to go out with people. It's a good thing you're not friends with them anymore, they don't sound like they were ever good friends in the first place."

Sitting up some, Cho nodded and strands of her dark hair fell into her face. "They weren't the best," She smiled sadly. "But.. You don't think I'm a slut, Hermione?"

"Of course not and.. and even if you did go out with a bunch of guys- or girls and did have sex that's no one's business but your own."

Cho's smile softened, "Thank you, Hermione." And quickly she pressed a swift peck to her check. "You've.." She looked away for a moment, "It means a lot to me that you offered to talk to me today."

Hermione resisted the urge to touch the spot where Cho had kissed her. "I don't mind.. You're in the need of better friends and I would love to be one."

With a smile Cho took Hermione's hand and pulled her up from the floral sofa. "Thank you." She squeezed her hand, "Come on, if we hurry down to the great hall we might be able to get some pudding."

"Sounds great," Hermione smiled back, grabbing up her school bag.

And together Hermione and Cho left the Room of Requirement, both of them feeling much better than they had when they first arrived.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm re-reading Order of the Phoenix right now and I got the idea for this when I got to Harry and Cho's fight at the tea shop.


End file.
